In the next couple of weeks, Kindle owners will be able to lend ebooks to each other. The original owner won’t be able to access their ebook during the lending period, which lasts two weeks. Not all books will be lendable; it’s up to the publisher.

That’s a feature that’s already available to owners of the Barnes and Noble ”Nook,” an eReader that just came out in a color version. At $249, it’s almost twice as much as a Kindle, and is not as easy on the eyes as the so-called e-ink display. But you do get color and can use it for email and surfing the web. See it at barnesandnoble.com/nookcolor.

In other news, color “e-ink” ebook readers are coming to China in March. But the color is reportedly a little washed out.